adult education | FE Week

The government must spend more on adult skills

Further education colleges must be enabled to continue to provide high quality education and skills training for adults, says Alastair da Costa Poverty is surprisingly entrenched in the UK, with most of the 10 million people in Britain in low-income or no income households, stuck there. In 2017 the Commission found that just one in six […]

Adults are still being trapped in low-paid work

The recent technical reforms still do little to help young people stuck in low levels of education or adults trapped in low-paid work, laments Andy Norman For too many people, low-skilled, poorly-paid and insecure work is the only option. A successful skills system can empower people to move into the well-paid good jobs that are […]

Festival of Learning winners 2018 winners announced

The Learning and Work Institute has announced the 35 award winners and highly commended nominees for the 2018 Festival of Learning. The winners and nominees have been selected in a wide variety of categories recognising, among other things, social impact, learning for health, tutors, employers and innovative projects. The awards were handed out at a special ceremony […]

Sir Alan Tuckett: Former NIACE CEO, Founder of Adult Learners’ Week

A lifelong left-winger who has dedicated his life to adult education, meeting Yasser Arafat and the Sandinistas on the way, Sir Alan Tuckett was knighted in the recent new year’s honours list. He spoke to FE on his work in a sector that’s badly understood by the politicians who pay for it. Adult education guru […]

Adult learners are vital to our skills strategy

The government is taking positive steps on skills development, but adult learners must be attended to, says Ruth Spellman In recent weeks, our government has set out its vision for a country that’s “fit for the future”. The chancellor’s budget, the industrial strategy and now the Skills Summit have all shone a spotlight on the […]

How can we get more adults to learn?

We are already looking at the supply of skills training, writes Fiona Aldridge. Now we need to encourage people to want grow these skills. In yet another busy news week for the sector, it can be easy to miss some of the most interesting developments, especially when they’re launched without the major fanfare of an […]

Adult education budget procurement has been a disaster

The ESFA has ridden rough-shod over the work of many vital third sector providers. Tim Ward wants answers Imagine the outcry if, at the beginning of the year, the ESFA had come out with a policy that would move money from one area to another without any reference to local stakeholders. What if it took […]

Training providers are facing uncertain times

Small training providers like the Friends Centre in Brighton are struggling under the current AEB uncertainty, writes Helen Osborne The recent partial invitation to tender for the Adult Education Budget has been going on a long time, and the announcement has been put back again. There are plenty of unintended consequences which seem not to […]